Friday, November 11, 2005

It's not just about oil anymore.


Although it's a subscriber-only article in today's Globe, I'm pretty sure you can get an idea of where it's going from the title and first paragraph alone:

A thirsty Uncle looks north
By PETER LOUGHEED
Friday, November 11, 2005, Page A19

I predict that the United States will be coming after our fresh water aggressively within three to five years. We must prepare, to ensure we aren't trapped in an ill-advised response. It would be a major mistake for Canada to handle this issue badly. With climate change and growing needs, Canadians will need all the fresh water we can conserve, particularly in the western provinces.

Yes, we should prepare, so we can deal with the issue of water in the same professional, mutually-satisfying way we did with, say, softwood lumber. Now there's a trade arrangement we can all get behind.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Canadians should prepare for guerrilla warfare against USA.

We look just like them. It should be easy to infiltrate, set up a few million sleeper cells and wait for the signal to attack.

After you....

CC said...

The elderly among us have already taken over Arizona. Well, at least from November to April. We must, therefore, restrict our terrorist activities to the winter months.

Anonymous said...

I know you guys are joking, but I can visualize someone somewhere in the US intel complex quietly passing along your comments and identities to their superiors. Before you know it, you're on a no-fly list and they're harassing you at the border.
no tin foil hat needed here, unfortunately, because we all know how the current US government works.

Cori said...

Actually, some guys at MIT checked out the foil hat thing - check it out:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/

Anonymous said...

All kidding aside, I believe Mr Lougheed is correct. Canada is one of the most gifted countries wrt fresh water, and with the environmental policies (lack thereof) that the current U.S. administration has embarked upon, they will be looking for a source of unpolluted freshwater within the very near future. Not a conspiracy theory - but a very real probability.